This invention relates to a grip frame. The frame is intended to form an integral part of a paintball marker and to be supplied as an upgrade for existing paintball markers.
A paintball marker, also known as a paintball gun or paintball launcher, is a device used to propel paintballs. A paintball is a spherical object typically 0.68 inch diameter, comprised of a fragile shell which encapsulates a coloured liquid. When a paintball that has been launched from a paintball marker comes into contact with a hard surface, the shell of the paintball ruptures and the coloured liquid is released, leaving a bright mark on the surface.
One type of paintball marker is a mechanically operated marker. With this type of marker the user pulls a trigger which, through the use of a mechanical linkage, releases a spring-loaded hammer. This hammer is pushed forward by the compressed spring and strikes a spring loaded valve pin, causing the valve to open for a short time and release a burst of compressed gas. This gas burst is internally diverted through the marker such that it passes through a bolt and into the breech of the marker behind a paintball. The expanding gas accelerates the paintball out of the breech, along a barrel and out of the end of that barrel. The continued pull on the trigger actuates a mechanically operated pneumatic valve, which supplies compressed gas to one side of a pneumatic cylinder. This cylinder pushes the hammer back to its starting position and also retracts the bolt to reveal a feed aperture through which a second paintball can drop into the breech. The release of the trigger switches the pneumatic valve back to its original position, supplying compressed gas to the opposite side of the pneumatic cylinder and pushing the bolt back to its original position thus causing the second paintball to be pushed into its firing position, ready for the cycle to start again.
Another type of paintball marker is an electro-pneumatic marker. This type of marker functions in much the same way as the mechanically operated marker with the exception that the trigger no longer provides the mechanical action required to operate the marker. The trigger in this type of marker operates an electrical switch, which is interpreted by an electrical circuit as the signal to start the firing cycle. This electrical circuit typically employs electro-pneumatic solenoid valves, which drive pneumatic cylinders in order to create the movement necessary to fire and re-cock the marker.